How women-shamans ruled ancient Ireland and where are the megaliths

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The history and mythology of the Emerald Isle hides many secrets. One of them is female shamans, under whose domineering influence Ancient Ireland was at one time. What is known about their existence? The answer to this question is incredibly complex and at the same time quite exciting. To do this, you need to immerse yourself in the study of aspects of the spiritual world, far beyond the realm of mortals.

It is believed that the word "shaman" itself comes from the Siberian Tungus language. Shamanic traditions go back thousands of years, and no one knows for sure how far they stretch. "Shaman" - means a witch doctor, healer, guardian of the earth, advisor, wise. This is a kind of pagan form of a priest.

From the point of view of a layman, a shaman, in fact, by changing the state of his consciousness, plunges into a trance in order to gain knowledge from the spiritual world. Today, many consider such a person as a person of strength who successfully explores consciousness. The modern shaman is expected to bring harmony into the living energy systems of the individual, society, animals, plants and the universe itself.

Evidence for the existence of shamans and their practices has been found all over the world. Last but not least, in the form of ancient stone megaliths such as the portal tomb of the Pulnabrone dolmen. And in some cases, it is clearly emphasized that women are ideal for this role. “Evidence from archaeological research in the Czech Republic has shown that the earliest shamans of the Upper Paleolithic were women,” writes author Eric W. Edwards, citing a 2005 study by Professor Barbara Tedlock.

As the researchers note, megaliths have unbreakable ties with the ideas of sisterhood, going back centuries. For example, Nabta Playa in the Nubian Desert was a place of worship for the priestesses of Hathor, an ancient Egyptian goddess who symbolized fertility and love, as well as heaven. Of course, men were also allowed to practice, but women were given numerous basic responsibilities.

Although the cults and gods were different, the rituals were varied and dissimilar, and the functions of shaman women were completely identical everywhere. Women shamans in all regions were engaged in various magical practices in order to come into contact with the souls of the dead, to divine the future.

Megaliths are structures made of huge boulders. These ancient ceremonial places are associated with representatives of various religious cults, such as shamans, soothsayers, fortune-tellers, oracles. Such structures have been found not only in England and Ireland. There are many similar archaeological sites in Egypt, China and throughout Europe.

The most famous Irish megalithic monuments date back to at least 3500 BC. Like many other similar structures, Irish monuments also serve as an astronomical instrument. They are clearly oriented towards the sun, moon and stars. All of them are directly related to spiritual beings, called gods, goddesses and teachers of people in folklore and mythology.

Walter Evans-Wentz, a famous American writer, anthropologist, one of the pioneers in the study of Tibetan Buddhism, wrote about the connection between fairy fairies and the spirits of the dead. The line between these concepts is so thin that in traditional Irish folklore they can mean the same thing. In addition, both of them live in the crevices of the stones of the megalith. After all, the megaliths also served as burial places.

A closer look at Irish mythology reveals famous "characters" such as Badb, Scatha and Queen Medb. They have clear shamanic connections. These are warlike women shamans who were worshiped as goddesses. Badb, for example, or "crow", the goddess of war. Her essence symbolizes life, wisdom, inspiration, blessings and enlightenment. Badb predicted death and the outcome of battles with trance-like screams. She is known for turning into a crow.

Ancient Irish texts mention the mysterious drui, fati, fili and fennidi, who are said to be able to communicate with the spirits of the other world, falling into a state of trance. This state they call Imbas forosnai, it is described as a method of prophecy and shamanic ability, practiced by some ancient Irish "poets".

The ancients believed that spirits suggest poems to poets, and prophecies are also mentioned in the records with the help of chants. These abilities were attributed to the gifts of the gods and goddesses to the elect. In order to detach from the world, shaman women often went alone to wild, remote places from the villages. Shamans of various communities had their own specific places of power, where they went on such a pilgrimage. There were even special days for such travels, which were determined by the position of various celestial bodies.

These spiritual practices were so widespread that in 1178 the Christian church passed a law that prohibited women from traveling alone. This divination technique was similar to that of the female druids. They went to places where it would be difficult to meet someone and just listened to the sounds of nature. In this way they fell into a trance and had visions. All these witchcraft techniques are shamanic in origin and are found in many cultures of ancient peoples.

But to what extent did these wise female shamans of old Ireland maintain the balance of power and influence the politics and life of the communities? Is there sufficient evidence that the Irish matriarchal culture ruled society at the time? And if so, why is it so difficult to get to the truth in this matter?

When Christians arrived on the island in the early 5th century, they had a sincere intention to shape the history of Ireland in their own image. This meant that everything pagan had to disappear. Magical shamanic practices were rightly considered demonic. Scientists believe that the monks removed all stories about female shamans from historical documents. Therefore, it is quite natural that over time, all this was simply erased from human memory.

An intriguing connection can be found between the Irish shamans and the northern sage women, the Volurs, in the ancient Irish texts that have survived. It tells the story of a female shaman called the Volur seer Ott. Shamanic attributes, such as: ritual staves, various amulets, volur wands. Archaeologists have discovered the graves of women who were buried sitting on staffs decorated with ancient runes like broomsticks. So the fabulous Baba Yaga has a very real historical prototype. Interestingly, it was customary for absolutely all peoples to erect a large stone on the graves of such women.

The sculptures known as “Sheela na gigs”, carvings of women without clothes, are visible in some places where Christian churches in Ireland are located. They remained from those distant times when, in order to attract the pagans, all the places of pagan worship were Christianized. Pagan idols were replaced by Christian saints.

This is a very controversial point in world Christian history. After all, the substitution of some idols for others does not make a pagan a Christian. Moreover, this leads to the idea that everything is done with the aim of confusing and distracting from true Christianity and worship of the living God.

The image of women-shamans of ancient Ireland disappeared into the mists of time. Although the traditions are still alive. In any case, this is a very important part of the historical heritage. Modern historians and anthropologists are faced with the daunting task of finding out exactly what Ancient Ireland was.

If you are interested in the history of Ireland, read our article 6 reasons why Ireland was the coolest medieval kingdom